New York, SANA- Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari stressed that the Syrian Government has the right to retaliate against the terrorist groups if they target the civilians even with a single shell.

In a speech after the Security Council voted on a resolution calling for the cessation of combat activities in Syria for 30 days at least, al-Jaafari said that over the past two days, thousands of shells fell on Damascus as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent HQ in Damascus was targeted by 10 shells fired by the so-called “moderate” terrorists located in Ghouta, killing and injuring people including a doctor.

He added that the shells which fell on Damascus claimed the lives of hundreds and injured others.

Al-Jaafari stressed that the Syrian government has dealt in a serious manner with all initiatives and was committed to them due to its care for the lives of Syrian citizens, and that the government has called on armed groups in the Eastern Ghouta to lay down their weapons and provided safe corridors for civilians to exit it.

He added that since the de-escalation zones agreement was signed, the armed groups have worked on committing systematic violations of the agreement in a dangerous way that threatens the lives of 8 million civilians in Damascus and its suburbs, indicating that all of these issues have created a situation that can’t be endured.

Al-Jaafari clarified that the breaches and the terrorist acts entailed from the Syrian Government to take the required measures to protect the citizens and it has practiced its legitimate right to defend them.

He said that the basic principle which governs the process of delivering aid according to the resolution no. 46/182 is respecting the sovereignty of the state concerned and the full coordination with it in any activity which the UN practices on its territories.

He added that ending the suffering of civilians in Syria doesn’t require showboating sessions or forming UN committees; it only requires applying the 13 relevant resolutions issued by the Security Council.

Al-Jaafari stressed that the governments of certain states should stop spending billions of dollars on supporting, financing and arming the terrorist groups and they should allow the Syrian people to draw their future and restore their security and stability without any foreign interference.

He also said that what is required from the governments of the United States, Britain, and France is to stop holding meetings and making strategic plans that bring to mind the age of colonialism and that seek to divide Syria and change the governing system in it by force.

”These governments should also recognize that the strategic schemes to divide Syria and to change the governing system in it by force and to guarantee the continuity of terrorism and the illegal military presence on our territories will not succeed.”

“We practice a sovereign right of self-defense and we will continue to fight terrorism wherever it is found on Syrian soil,” he affirmed, adding that the Syrian government reserves the full right to retaliate against armed terrorist groups if they target civilians with even a single shell.

He added “We will continue to support our allies in combating terrorism wherever it exists on the Syrian territories and inside our national borders.”

Al-Jaafari asserted that the new resolution should be applied to the entirety of Syrian territory, including Afrin, and areas occupied by US forces, and the occupied Syrian Golan.